# I ![rw-book-cover](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71eVaPZcRHL._SY160.jpg) ## Metadata - Author: [[Steve Gallagher]] - Full Title: I - Category: #books ## Highlights - The Puritans had a saying: “Pride is the last thing to leave the heart but the first thing to return.” ([Location 112](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=112)) - A man’s sexual addiction is merely the symptom of a much deeper problem. A toxic mixture of pride and self-centeredness has created a “hothouse” where sin of every variety can thrive. If transformation is ever to occur in that man’s life, his pride and his thriving “self-life” (i.e. flesh, as Scripture calls it) must be dealt a death-blow. ([Location 159](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=159)) - We want to receive God’s blessings but care little about what blesses Him. We analyze the nuances of biblical doctrine but won’t examine our own hearts. We are fascinated by the end times, but have little interest in preparing to face the challenging times ahead. ([Location 171](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=171)) - “At some point I hope to have grown sufficiently in both stature and wisdom to understand that I cannot deliver myself from myself, and that God alone can save me from me.”1 Craig D. Lousbrough ([Location 193](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=193)) - “There is hardly a page of Scripture on which it is not clearly written that God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”2 Augustine ([Location 197](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=197)) - When given the option, we chose independence. The great I AM now had a rival in Creation: “i.”* Rather than living in submission to the will of God, we have chosen to go our own way. The consequences have been devastating. ([Location 218](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=218)) - The Greek term for the word “I” is ego—a word that was eventually transliterated into Latin, and then later into English. Ego’s technical definition remains the same today as the ancient Greeks understood it: “The ‘I’ or self of any person; a thinking, feeling and conscious being, able to distinguish itself from other selves.”3 So if you were to tell your spouse, “I am going to the store to pick up some groceries,” obviously you are speaking of yourself, as opposed to someone else. We don’t tend to consider such things much, but this is a subject of enormous importance to God. He is intensely interested in the inner workings of human beings. ([Location 226](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=226)) - Scripture regards the soul as the spiritual housing of man’s inner life. In fact, it is much the same as “I.” Both terms describe what makes up the inner man: the heart, the conscious mind, and the imagination. It represents who you are. The soul is the unseen self that is distinct from every other person’s self. God places such importance on the soul because it is that part of us, housed in a resurrection body, that will live on in the eternal realm. ([Location 240](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=240)) - Our imaginations, now corrupted by sin, can be used for anything from sexual fantasy to the plotting of murder. We can perceive, but our perceptions about life have been distorted by sin. We have the power to reason, but sin’s corrupting influences cause us to make foolish and sinful decisions. We have the ability to remember events from the past, but due to sin, even our memories are skewed. We have been given a conscience—a moral compass that should help us to know right from wrong—but even that human faculty has been marred by sin’s touch. ([Location 254](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=254)) - The self-life is just what it sounds like—living for self; pursuing what I want, living by my feelings, living for pleasure, a me-first attitude. You’re probably pretty familiar with the tentacles of the self-life, things like: self-effort, self-help, self-pity, self-preservation, self-indulgence, self-gratification, self-ambition, self-seeking, self-serving, self-centeredness, self-determination, self-will, self-exaltation, self-righteousness, but the matrix of them all is self-love. ([Location 267](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=267)) - the carnal mind also has a lens through which everything in life is viewed. Situations, other people, God—everything that makes up a person’s life—is seen through this special lens. That lens is pride. Indeed, one could call pride the eyes of the self-life. ([Location 291](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=291)) - This concept of self-exaltation forms the basis for our working definition of pride: Having an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance and a selfish preoccupation with one’s own rights. It is the attitude that says, “I am more important than you, and, if need be, I will promote my cause and protect my rights at your expense.” This is the typical mindset of an unbelieving world. ([Location 307](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=307)) - Every human being alive has a propensity toward certain sins, while other vices hold no attraction. The variety is seemingly endless. However, everybody deals with pride because it is an inescapable part of the fallen nature. ([Location 314](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=314)) - Pride—like any sin—is never satisfied and will continually push for more influence. ([Location 328](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=328)) - When a person is prideful, he automatically lifts himself up at the expense of others. ([Location 335](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=335)) - When a person first comes to Christ, he must face the fact that he has a long history of seeing life through the lens of pride. He must recognize and renounce it, for only then can he begin looking at others through the humble eyes of Christ. ([Location 348](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=348)) - Charles Spurgeon shared my friend’s bleak assessment of the battle when he wrote: Pride is so natural to fallen man that it springs up in his heart like weeds in a watered garden, or rushes by a flowing brook. It is an all pervading sin, and smothers all things like dust in the roads, or flour in the mill. Its every touch is evil. You may hunt down this fox, and think you have destroyed it, and lo! your very exultation is pride… Pride is a sin with a thousand lives; it seems impossible to kill it.5 ([Location 356](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=356)) - In other words, the more pride one has inside him, the more he will experience resistance from God. ([Location 381](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=381)) - When a man insists upon controlling his own life he finds himself at odds with the entire Kingdom of Heaven. As one commentator put it: “Think of having the whole of God, his purposes, his laws, his providences, yea, and his love, turned to fight against us.”6 The fact that we are told that He withstands the proud shows how grievous a sin pride is. ([Location 386](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=386)) - For instance, many believers do not understand that their prayers go unanswered because they approach the Throne of God with a cocky, presumptuous, and demanding attitude. ([Location 391](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=391)) - Let’s consider these stirring words from the Pulpit Commentary: What have any of us to be proud of? Has the sinner any reason to be proud? He is walking on the broad way that leadeth to destruction. Not a journey, not a prospect, to be proud of, certainly! ([Location 404](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=404)) - Has the saint any reason to be proud? Surely not. It is by the grace of God he is what he is. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”… Away, then, with pride! Away with pride of riches! Away with pride of rank! Away with pride of learning! Away with pride of beauty in the face that is made of clay! Away with pride from every Christian heart! Away with pride from the house of God! Away with pride from all departments of Christian work! Away with pride towards our fellow-men! Let us follow in the footsteps of him who was meek and lowly in heart.8 ([Location 407](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=407)) - Dear Lord, I want this passion in my heart about overcoming pride. Give me a burning desire to tear out every vestige of lofty pride. I want the lowly demeanor of Jesus to reign within me. Make it so, dear Lord. Amen. ([Location 413](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=413)) - The term “Lord” is used 7,750 times in Scripture, while the term “Savior” is used only 37 times, showing the overwhelming weight the Word of God puts upon the lordship of Christ. ([Location 427](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=427)) - “Pride was the sin that turned Satan, a blessed angel, into a cursed devil. Satan knows better than anyone the damning power of pride. Is it any wonder, then, that he so often uses it to poison the saints? His design is made easier in that man’s heart shows a natural fondness for it.”1 William Gurnall ([Location 429](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=429)) - “Take heaven from its center in God, and try to center it in self, and you transform heaven into hell. I know little or nothing about the fire, or the darkness, or the worm of hell. [But I know this]: hell is selfishness, and selfishness is hell.”2 F.B. Meyer ([Location 434](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=434)) - C.S. Lewis once said, “We must picture Hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment.” ([Location 549](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=549)) - Pride is the governing principle of hell and the unredeemed world it influences. It causes strife in the home, the workplace, the political arena and yes, even the Christian community. (Proverbs 13:10) Pride incites fierce competition amongst people in all facets of life. ([Location 554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=554)) - Nor is this “I-centered” mindset absent from the Church. American evangelicalism has become big business. Denominational leaders vie for parishioners. Authors and gospel recording artists push to be at the top of their respective charts. Pastors compete with each other over who has the largest congregation. And, of course, everyone wants God to bless their own “I” ambitions. ([Location 568](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=568)) - With the kind of piercing discernment that reads the heart of man, Charles Finney exposed the wickedness involved in much of the competition that thrives in the Church: You who are performing religious duties from selfish motives are in reality trying to make God your servant. If your own interests are supreme, all your services are performed to induce God to promote your interests… Don’t you think the devil would do the same if he thought he could gain his end by it—and be a devil still? The highest style of selfishness is to try to get God, with all His attributes, enlisted in the service of your mighty self!7 ([Location 571](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=571)) - There is a common denominator in all of these scenarios: people are either trying to exalt themselves at the expense of others or they are doing their utmost to protect themselves from others who would do so at their expense. Every bit of it reeks with the ugly and selfish attitude of, “‘I’ will take care of number one.” ([Location 578](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=578)) - Hell is simply a place where demons and human beings can experience their right to self-determination outside of the constraints of the Almighty. ([Location 584](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=584)) - Hell is the one place in the universe where fallen spirits and souls can dwell without God’s interference. ([Location 588](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=588)) - It is clear that there is one destination for those who will not humble themselves: hell. ([Location 592](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=592)) - “Gnashing of teeth” is the description of someone who is overwhelmingly frustrated—aggravated to the point of insane rage. The more they lament their woeful condition, the more prideful anger they will feel toward God. ([Location 600](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=600)) - What they weren’t willing to face in life will become the great reality of their eternal death. Everything they recall about their earth life will be a reminder of how prideful they had been. Worldly sorrow over the way their lives turned out will be their daily portion. ([Location 616](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=616)) - Just as awful will be the consuming lust that will remain with them in its fully inflamed state. That intense, driving passion for the idol they gave their hearts to will consume them in hell. This condition is miserable enough on earth where the desire can be occasionally indulged. But in perdition, there will be no opportunity to ever taste its pleasures again. Idolaters will only be left with the overwhelming drive to have something they can never again experience. ([Location 619](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=619)) - Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “Hell is a condition in which life is lived away from God and all the restraints of God’s holiness. All that is described in [Romans 1:21-32], exaggerated still more, and going on endlessly! In other words, hell is people living to all eternity the kind of life they are living now, only much worse!… It is men and women without any control at all, finally abandoned by God.”8 ([Location 631](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=631)) - Whatever horrors await lost souls, one thing is certain: they will have no hope of ever escaping. Once they have heard the pronouncement: “Depart from Me, accursed one,” their doom has been sealed forever. The door has been shut and it will never again be opened. ([Location 637](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=637)) - Hell is the destination of the proud. And the ruler of it will be none other than the most egotistical narcissist this world has ever known. ([Location 640](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=640)) - Dear Lord, I ask You to make the solemn realities of eternity real to me. Stamp eternity upon my forehead, O God! I want to live my life in the fear of the Lord, learning to hate pride and every evil way. Transform me, Lord, I pray. Amen. ([Location 643](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=643)) - “Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind… each person’s pride is in competition with everyone else’s pride.”1 C.S. Lewis ([Location 661](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=661)) - “Think of the power that turned an innocent pink-cheeked boy into a Nero or a Himmler.”2 A.W. Tozer ([Location 665](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=665)) - “Self is the root, the branches, the tree, of all the evil of our fallen state. All the evils of fallen angels and men have their birth in the pride of self.”3 William Law ([Location 668](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B072QY8X68&location=668))